Buckwheat Tabbouleh

Happy April Fools!

Did you play any practical jokes on anyone yet? Please do tell. :)

I must say I did something pretty cruel to Eric!

I’m not the practical joke kind of person, but this year I was feeling extra devious. I whipped up a couple of super salty cookies last night (I literally dumped the salt in and made sure they were gag worthy!), and over-baked the cookies in the microwave (so they were tough as bricks). And then I left the cookies by the car keys, but I didn’t say anything to him about the cookies so he wouldn’t get suspicious. I also left him an oat square when guilt started to set in (I’m a softy!).

He spotted them this morning and took both the cookies and the oat square to work, naturally. Oh man, he is going to gag when he tastes the cookies! I tried a tiny bit of the dough last night and it was so so so salty. I’m so evil.

At least he has a delicious oat square to wash it down?

Before I turned into an evil wife at the strike of midnight, I was a good wife helping Eric measure in our backyard…

What were we measuring for?

We are putting in a SWIMMING POOL this spring!

This is the model that we selected below after months of debate and number crunching. It is going to be quite exotic looking when it is all said and done and I think it will go really well with the green backdrop of the forest. It has a spa-feel that we just love.

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We are trying to decide what kind of rock display we want for the waterfall and if we want a big slide too.

What do you think? Is this rock display too much?

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Ok, ok we aren’t really putting in a pool, but did I fool you? :)

If we do put a pool in our backyard, I think it will have to be this kind…!!!

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Bahahaa. Could that dog look any less amused?

We were actually measuring for two things.

1) We are rebuilding our deck this Spring. This is our next big reno project. We’re very excited about replacing the deck because some of the boards have rotted so much you could actually fall through them! If you don’t see me for a few days, you know where I am…stuck in the deck!

We are hoping that the base will be in good enough condition so we can keep it intact. Eric has to wait for the ground to thaw a bit more before he can take a good look. Hopefully there is no rotting on the base and we can simply rebuild the top layer! That will save a ton of time and money. We are hoping to have it ready for my birthday on May 16th. We’re planning a big outdoor event with friends, so we have a tight deadline to work with.

The second thing we were measuring for is a surprise, but I can tell you it doesn’t involve water!

After measuring and a walk around the neighbourhood, we had a lovely dinner.

This was my first time ever making Tabbouleh. I couldn’t get over how easy it was to make and how delicious it turned out! I also never knew I liked Parsley so much. I thought using Buckwheat in this recipe was a fun idea, but you could really use any kind of grain that you prefer in this dish.

The recipe called for sun-dried tomatoes and I actually had some that I had been meaning to use for a while now. Unfortunately when I read the package I realized the kind I bought has sulphites in them. Sulphites give me really bad headaches, so I opted not to include them in this dish and used fresh tomatoes instead. 

This recipe is FOOL proof- cook the buckwheat (or grain), chop veggies, pour on the dressing ingredients, and mix!

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Buckwheat Tabbouleh

Fresh, light, and energizing, this Buckwheat Tabbouleh is the perfect compliment for any lunch or dinner. Serve with warm tortilla shells, salsa, and hummus to round out the meal. You can experiment with the type of grain and vegetables you use too!

Adapted from Food.com

Yield: 5-6 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw buckwheat groats (or grain of your choice)
• 4 cups vegetable broth (or 4 cups water and 1 bouillon cube)*
• 2-3 cups fresh Italian or Curly Parsley, chopped very finely (I used 4 cups but it was too much)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1/2 English cucumber, chopped finely
• 1 small carrot, chopped finely
• 2-3 green onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/4-1/2 tsp salt)

Directions:

1. Place vegetable broth or water and bouillon cube in a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Add in the Buckwheat (or other grain) and reduce to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, finely chop all the vegetables and place into a large bowl. Drain the Buckwheat when cooked and discard the broth. Add Buckwheat into bowl. Pour on the dressing (lemon and EVOO) and stir well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to stand for about 30 minutes to allow the flavours to develop (optional). Makes about 5-6 cups.

NOTE: If using another type of grain, you might have to reduce the liquid if you don’t want to drain it. Also, I used curly Parsley but next time I would chop it much more finely than I did because it was scratchy on our throats.

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This was AMAZING! What a perfect dish for Spring. :)

Granted, I used a bit too much Parsley, but it’s all good. I used about 4 cups, but I recommend using 2.5-3 cups. I also used Curly Parsley, but I don’t think I chopped it finely enough because it was scratchy on our throats. Next time I will use less and chop it much more! A reader also said that you can add the dressing to the Parsley to let it soak in to help soften it up.

Have you tried these Food for Life Gluten-Free Brown Rice Tortillas? I spotted them at the grocery store and had to try them out because the tortillas looked so thin and pliable (two traits I love in tortillas!), and wow I just love them. They are much less hearty than the Ezekiel kind, but I love that they are a bit thinner. Keep them stored in the freezer or they do tend to dry out quickly.

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Good news- I have a NEW Search bar installed on the right side bar of the blog.

If you have tried searching the blog before you probably were frustrated that it didn’t work well. This new  one is amazing and I hope that you will be able to find things much quicker! Go check it out and give it a try and let me know if it is working for you. :)

Happy April